A woman on a foot-propelled scooter was struck and killed this morning by a tractor trailer in Manhattan, authorities said.
Jessica Dworkin, 58, was apparently trying to cross east to west on Sixth Avenue, at the intersection of West Houston Street, at around 9 a.m. when she was hit by the rear wheels of the truck’s trailer as driver Greg Smith turned right onto Sixth from West Houston, sources said.
“I heard her scream. She was on a scooter,” said Fernando Portorreal, 30, a construction worker who was on a nearby job site.
“People were trying to get the truck to stop. Once she went under the tire it was too late. Her body was wrapped around the tire.”
Dworkin became trapped under the trailer’s massive rear tires and was dragged just over two blocks on Sixth to Carmine Street, where Smith finally stopped, sources added.
“It dragged her body here,” said a stunned Rob Griffiths, 27, who works at a nearby CVS pharmacy.
Dworkin was pronounced dead on the scene. Smith remained on the scene and, at this time, no criminality is suspected, police said.
“I hope she died quickly. She cared for people, she did a lot of good for people. She was always pleasant. She would come for yoga or hula class or to watch movies,” said Sandy Gabin, center director Our Lady of Pompeii Senior Center.
“We’re well aware of the accident, just not sure exactly what happened,” said Phil Liedtka , owner of Liedtka Trucking in Trenton, N.J., which owns the truck. “We have our own people on site there now trying to gather the facts.”
He noted that Smith will have been with the company eight years next month and has a clean record, which is noted on the side of the truck’s cab.
The investigation is ongoing and a portion of Sixth Avenue remains closed to traffic.